Chelsea would back new racism rules

26 Oct 2012 15:17:16

Roberto Di Matteo insists Chelsea will adhere to any rule change that would see players sacked for racist abuse, despite their refusal to kick John Terry out of the club.

Blues boss Di Matteo was coy about whether he fully endorsed the Professional Footballers' Association's six-point plan to combat racism, which has been drawn up in the wake of the Terry scandal. But the Italian insisted Chelsea would follow it to the letter if it had the backing of the majority of clubs.

He said: "It's a difficult one. If the majority believe that we need a law like that then, as I said, we will obey it and support it."

He added: "If it will become a rule, we will play by the rules, as we have always done. As a club, we are against any kind of discrimination and, if it does go through then we will support it."

Chelsea came under heavy fire for merely fining Terry after he was found guilty by the Football Association of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand just over a year ago. Various punishments meted out to the Blues captain prompted a backlash among some black players towards both the club and the anti-racism movement.

"Everybody has an opinion and we must respect that," Di Matteo added. "We behave the way we think is right for our club and that's how we're going to go forward."

Some players took direct action by refusing to wear T-shirts endorsing the 'Kick It Out' campaign during last week's fixtures, including Anton and Rio Ferdinand.

It is the turn of Chelsea's squad to sport them during the warm-up before Sunday's Barclays Premier League game against Manchester United.

Di Matteo said: "We are supporting the Kick It Out campaign. It's going to be an individual choice for our players. We're not going to force anybody to, or not to, wear it.

"But my personal opinion is that we should wear it and we should raise awareness about it and show the support for it."